I think I want to try Bactrim. How can I get it and how is it administered?
I had trouble with the chicks that were from from my Wheaten Ameraucana rooster and Wheaten hens. The chicks from that same rooster with my Blue Ameraucana hen all survived. i suspect it may indicate that the pure Wheaten bloodlines may be "too narrow" (?)
I lost a bunch of Blue Marans too. Also lost most of my Mille Fleur Cochin chick and those genetic are all over the place. I am stumped and sick about all of those babies.
It was such a lovely, cool Summer weather-wise but not at all a good one for my breeding programs. i didn't have fertile eggs from my Self-Blue Cochins. As I am getting improved type their cushions are getting fluffier so fertility is going down. If i don't get better results after I pluck their poor bottoms, i guess A.I. is my next option. - Already anticipating Spring which will include a Sportsman incubator and hatcher!
RX only, from a vet. It is a liquid. I have to give according to body weight twice a day. It's really tricky with the chicks, like .02 ml for a 50 gram chick. The vet didn't even want to treat the chicks, just the adults (treat the root of the problem), but when I lost my rooster he agreed to give me some more so I could treat whatever chicks I could salvage.
Are your pens ever allowed to mingle? I only had to treat the Isbars because they were 100% separated by yard space always. If yours ever mingled, or even had adjacent pens, then it is possible you now have spread it to other pens. IF e coli is your problem- that's a big IF. The only way to get a vet to prescribe it is probably to sacrifice a suspect bird, put it on ice, and send it to OSU for testing. Be sure and mention you suspect e coli. Remember there are many strains of e coli, some are beneficial and some are harmful. They will test whatever they find with a list of antibiotics and give you the results, which will tell the vet which antibiotic is best to treat your strain. It will cost you $80-150 for the OSU testing and culturing then a vet visit with a suspect chicken then the antibiotic (which isn't very expensive).